by April Lust
Well, not anymore, she said to herself, walking faster to get back into her apartment. My fear ends soon. I’m getting out. I’m getting away from you, fucker.
# # #
Paul
Paul’s apartment was a piece of shit, to put it lightly. He had moved into a unit on the edge of town and it was a dilapidated, leaking disaster. But between all the odd jobs that Paul had worked over the last two years, it was still all he could afford. Goddammit, he thought as he stared up at his leaking ceiling. It was days like this that he really regretted what had happened with the Army two years before. If he had just shot himself in the toe, his life would have been going fine, but no— He had to flip out on his superior officer and get dishonorably discharged. Really, there was no one to blame except himself, but that didn’t stop Paul from being angry at literally every other human that walked the face of the earth, resenting everyone else for their apparent security or happiness or health. Most days, Paul wanted to climb up the highest mountain and scream about how much he hated the world, but he had too much life experience at this point to think that it would make a difference.
He sent a quick message to his landlord, Albie, complaining again about the leak in the ceiling, but he knew he wasn’t going to hear back from him for several days at the very least. Albie was in an MC, the Thunderhawks, which apparently ruled over this tiny town and consumed all of his landlord’s time. It was annoying, but at least the rent here was cheap and people left him alone. That was all Paul wanted, really, the luxury of his own solitude. But more importantly, he needed a fucking job. Badly. He’d started buying only ramen noodles at the local grocery store, trying to tide himself over cheaply until he found something to get some income, but he was starting to feel weaker and weaker as the days went by. He needed to eat more and sleep less and actually function like a human. But it was a self-perpetuating cycle. He’d worry about his money and beat himself up for getting into this situation in the first place, and then as a result he’d feel so drained of energy that he wouldn’t even leave his apartment for days at a time.
But today, he’d have to get out to buy some food, at the very least. So he forced himself into the freezing cold shower, put on some sweatpants and a tank top, and headed out into the night. He intended to go straight to the grocery store and then head back home, but for some reason his feet got to wandering, taking him into a part of town that he hadn’t explored before. It was nicer, the buildings less-broken down and more expensive-looking. It’d be nice to live here, he thought to himself as he passed by sturdy-looking apartment buildings.
In the distance, his eyes spotted a bus stop, plastered-over with various advertisements. Maybe there would be job postings there that he could consider. If he didn’t get income soon, he’d have to leave even his ridiculously shabby apartment, which meant he’d just have to leave and find another town to put down roots. He was tired of jumping around everywhere. He wanted to stay in one place, at least so that his body and mind could get some much-needed rest.
When he approached the bus stop, there was somebody already standing there: a slim yet curvy young woman in a tight black dress. Paul was so distracted by the frantic way she was typing on her phone that it took him several moments before he noticed the job posting directly in front of her. “The Greyhound,” he mouthed to himself, memorizing the phone number written on the poster. He had a mind for memorization. He never forgot anything once he committed to it.
The girl eventually turned and walked past him, not even looking him in the eye. Paul shrugged it off, even though her face lingered behind his eyelids for several moments after she disappeared. She was strikingly beautiful, really, dressed like she was going to a party rather than hunting for a job. But it didn’t matter either way. Paul wasn’t interested in having anything right now, even with the most gorgeous woman that he’d seen in town so far. Relationships and Paul didn’t mix well. He could handle a casual hook-up here and there, but usually women got attached to him very quickly, which was the ultimate turn-off. He was a lone wolf, through and through, and nobody was about to change that.
Chapter Two
Jenna
“Michelle, pick up, pick up, pick up,” Jenna said as she finally walked back into her apartment complex, cradling her cell phone between her chin and her neck.
The phone rang six or seven times before she got an answer. “Hello?” Michelle said on the other end of the phone.
“Michelle!” Jenna exclaimed, temporarily too excited for coherence. “Michelle, come over as soon as you can.”
“What’s wrong, honey? Is everything all right?” Michelle asked in a concerned tone of voice.
“Yes, yes, it’s fine. Well, no, actually, it isn’t,” Jenna said. “But I’m okay, it’s not an emergency. I just need to talk to you as soon as possible, hopefully privately. As in, Albie can’t hear what I’m going to say.”
“All right, all right,” Michelle said. “I’ll be over to your place in ten.”
Jenna passed the time by pacing back and forth across her tiny studio apartment, opening up her phone just to stare down at the number she’d copied down from the poster at the bus stop. Maybe this was her chance, her one true shot at getting out. She’d just have to do it the right way. Gavin couldn’t find out about it ahead of time, otherwise he’d be sure to intimidate the Greyhound’s bosses and ensure that they wouldn’t even give her a chance to get the job. Michelle’s boyfriend Albie was one of Gavin’s top lieutenants in the MC, but Michelle was loyal. Jenna could trust her to keep her mouth shut.
Michelle knocked on the door a few minutes before Jenna expected her to. Jenna rushed to let her in. “Come in, come in,” she said, hurriedly shutting and locking the door behind her friend once she was safely inside. “I’ve got some news!”
“Is it the blind date you were supposed to go on tonight?” Michelle asked, a grin slowly spreading across her face. “Oh, my God. Did you actually get laid?”
Jenna scoffed and shook her head. “No such luck. Gavin sent a couple of the guys out to pummel the shit out of him. My date’s in the emergency room getting patched up.” She sighed and headed over to the couch, gesturing for Michelle to walk over and sit down next to her. “And you know what the saddest thing is? With my history with Gavin, it’s not even close to being the worst date I’ve ever had, even though my knees are fucked up now.” She pointed at the patches of blood on her legs.
“Ugh, poor baby,” Michelle said, leaning over to give Jenna a hug. “Gavin’s been such a dick recently. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, well, it’s what I should have expected,” Jenna said with a shrug. “As long as I work at Sully’s, Gavin will always have a way to get into my business and interfere with my life.”
Michelle frowned, tapping her fingers on the back of the couch anxiously. “So what are you going to do?”
“Well,” Jenna said, struggling to fight the beaming smile that threatened to crack her face wide open, “I’m going to apply for a new job, across town. Safely out of the Thunderhawks’ territory.”
“What job?” Michelle asked, her mouth falling open as Jenna’s words sunk in. “How can it be out of Gavin’s reach? Practically everything in this town is affiliated with the club.”
“Not anymore!” Jenna said happily. “There’s this new place, called the Greyhound, opening up on the edge of town, right outside of the Thunderhawks’ jurisdiction.”
Michelle bit down on her bottom lip, looking up at Jenna with worry evident in her eyes. “Is it an Eagles place?” she asked softly, referring to the rival club that ruled the neighboring town.
“No!” Jenna said, even though she wasn’t 100% confident of that fact. “I’m pretty sure it’s neutral territory. If an MC was pushing up on Gavin’s space, I think we would have heard about it by now. There probably would have been a war started already, for Christ’s sake.”
Michelle nodded slowly, even though the concern written across her face remained in place. “When ar
e you going in for the interview?”
“Tomorrow,” Jenna said. “Tomorrow afternoon, right in between my shifts at Sully’s. I’m hoping they let me know soon if I get the job or not…”
“You’ll get it,” Michelle said encouragingly, reaching over to squeeze Jenna’s hand between her strong fingers. “You will.”
Jenna blew out her breath and smiled across at Michelle. “Chelly,” she said, “you’re the only one that believes in me.”
“That’s not true!” Michelle argued. “Albie believes in you, too!”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Jenna said in between laughs. “But Albie is Gavin’s man first and foremost. He doesn’t really care about me.”
Michelle shook her head, her brows furrowing together in frustration. “Okay, Albie’s loyal to Gavin, sure. It’s an MC thing. But I’m the boss, and what I say goes. Albie loves you because I love you. End of story.”
“Fair enough,” Jenna said, chuckling. “Could you do me a favor?”
“Anything, sweetheart,” Michelle said quickly.
“Just don’t tell anyone that I’m applying for this job, okay? I don’t want it to blow up in my face, especially if I don’t get it. Can you imagine how pissed Gavin would be if he found out I was trying to find a way out of Sully’s?”
Michelle scoffed and shook her head. “That fucking asshole needs to get his shit together and let you go. But don’t worry, I won’t say anything. My lips are sealed.”
“Thanks,” Jenna said, squeezing back at Michelle’s fingers. “I knew I could count on you.”
They sat there in silence for a minute, until Jenna felt an odd sense of anxiety creep over her body, making all of her tiny little hair follicles go erect like they were preparing for battle. It took her a long moment to figure out why she suddenly felt nervous, and then it hit her. “Do you think I can do it?” Jenna whispered, not looking directly at Michelle for fear of showing her own weakness.
“Get the job? I know you can,” Michelle said, patting the back of Jenna’s hand encouragingly.
“No, I mean, do you think I’d do a good job if I actually got it?” Jenna murmured. “I’ve only ever worked at Sully’s, ever since I was a teenager. I don’t know if I can do anything else.”
“It’s a bar, sweetie, just like any other. You’re going to do fine,” Michelle said without hesitation.
But Jenna still chewed on the inside of her mouth, biting down on the sensitive inner flesh just to distract herself from the bubbles of anxiety that rose and popped within her stomach. “I’ve just never known anything else, you know? Maybe I’m secretly terrible at everything and Gavin just keeps me around at Sully’s because I’m supposed to be his girl.”
“He’s not that thoughtful,” Michelle shot back. “He doesn’t care about your feelings at all. If he did, he wouldn’t cheat on you with every cheap skank that rides into town every other day.”
“True,” Jenna said, laughing at the situation even though really it wasn’t funny at all. “Maybe when I’m out of the picture and he doesn’t see me every day, he’ll get over it. You know what I mean? Maybe he’ll let go of me, finally, once I get another job.”
Michelle rolled her eyes and shrugged. “I mean, I wouldn’t count on it. He’s an asshole, but he is in love with you. Not, like, sweet, true love. Like obsessive, controlling love. Personally, I don’t know how the hell you put up with it as long as you did.”
Jenna sighed deeply, feeling a familiar sensation of shame burn inside of her. She knew there was some truth to what Michelle was saying. If she had any real self-respect at all, she would have done something like this years ago. But maybe she simply wasn’t ready before, and only now did she have the strength and the skills necessary to break out of that. Even still, she knew how to handle her current life, as bad as it was. She was going to be walking into unfamiliar territory, meeting new people and doing new things. It was a terrifying prospect.
“Hey,” she said to Michelle, pulling insistently on her fingers to make sure she was paying maximum attention to what Jenna was saying. “Promise me something.”
“Sure, what is it?” Michelle asked.
“Promise that no matter how far apart we get, or however messy things get between me and Gavin, you and me will always be friends.”
“Of course!” Michelle said, launching across the couch to crash into a hug, pressing Jenna roughly against her torso. “Always. Never forget that you have me, no matter what.”
Jenna smiled into Michelle’s neck, allowing herself to feel a little glimmer of hope, no matter how irrational it might have been. Despite everything she’d been through, despite all the bullshit with Gavin, she was still lucky to have the MC in her life if only because it brought Michelle to her. As long as she had Michelle, she knew she’d be all right. Nothing could break them apart.
But still, the fear lingered inside Jenna’s heart, making it beat faster and harder every time she checked the clock that night. She watched the minutes tick by, bringing her closer to her interview, the moment of truth. I can do this, she told herself on a loop. I can do this. I’m strong. I’m tough. I’m not as weak as Gavin thinks I am. I. Can. Do. This.
# # #
Paul
Paul got the job within five minutes of showing up the next morning. The owner took one look at him, clearly appraising his height as well as his protruding muscles, before offering Paul his hand. “Welcome to the Greyhound,” the owner, Tim, said with a broad smile before clapping Paul on the back. Paul felt a little awkward at that. He got the sense that Tim wanted to be his friend or at least a friendly acquaintance, but Paul just wanted to do his work and be left alone. In any case, Tim hired him as a nightly bouncer, but he was allowed to work during the day as well to help set up shop before the bar opened at night.
That was what he was doing now, lifting boxes of liquor to and from the basement under the main level of the bar, when the girl from the night before walked in through the front door. She was dressed much differently now, having traded in her tight black dress for a button-down shirt and formal-looking black slacks. But she still looked hot; her bountiful curves caught Paul’s eye again, even though he tried as hard as he could not to look at her. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, especially not on his first day on the job. “Hello? Is Tim here? I called about an interview yesterday?” she said hesitantly, nervous energy coming off of her in thick waves.
Paul ignored her, focusing on getting the bottles out of their various boxes and positioning them behind the bar in an orderly arrangement. Tim popped up out of a backroom the next second, offering his hand for the girl to shake. “Wow, you look perfect for the job!” Tim announced as soon as he saw the girl standing within the front doorway. Jesus, this guy wasn’t subtle at all, was he? His entire hiring strategy seemed to hinge on what the prospective employees looked like. But Paul supposed that made some degree of sense. After all, bouncers needed to be intimidating to make sure that the patrons didn’t start shit, and bartenders needed to be attractive so that creepy old men would keep coming back to buy more.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name on the phone last night. What was it, Jennifer? Jasmine? Something like that?” Tim asked. Paul watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye, seeing the young woman smile broadly, some of the tension in her shoulders evaporating right before his eyes.
“Jenna,” the girl said, shaking Tim’s hand enthusiastically, her smile seeming to get even wider and brighter.
“Well, when can you start, Jenna?” Tim asked.
“Really? That’s it? Are you sure you don’t want to check my résumé or anything, I brought it with me…” Jenna said, digging through her bag to pull out a piece of paper. But Tim just shook his head.
“Not necessary,” Tim said, waving his hand dismissively when she tried to hand him her résumé. “I can already tell you have what it takes to be a part of the family here. Hey, why don’t you grab yourself a drink from behind the bar, get used to the
feel of the place? Otherwise, you can come back tomorrow night for work. I’ll see you then.” Tim retreated from the bar, nodding at Paul on his way back into his office, next to the restrooms at the back of the building.
Jenna slowly walked over in Paul’s direction, walking around the bar and staring at the line of drinks he was assembling for a long moment. “I’ve never had champagne before…” She was murmuring to herself, but Paul couldn’t help but stare at her profile, looking at the way her breasts and hips and ass stood out from her waist, even dressed as conservatively as she was. She probably had no idea what the criteria was for the bartender position. Even just looking at her, Paul could already tell that she had no idea how attractive she was. Somehow that just made her even hotter, the fact that she didn’t realize that she could have most men wrapped around her little finger in 60 seconds flat. Not Paul, though. He was very accustomed to women and the various tools they could use to get a man under their control, and as far as he was concerned he was immune to it. Even if she was one of the hottest women he’d ever seen.